In the 43 days between now and the June 3 primary, Elvis sightings will outnumber Lautenberg sightings.

Understanding that Lautenberg's rhetorical and debating skills stretch from microscopic to non-existent, his campaign has decided that taking grief from editorial writers over refusing to agree to debates is acceptable in return for avoiding a public and televised display of Lautenberg's usual bumbling, stream-of-consciousness rambling which will only call even sharper and potentially more critical attention to his 84 years.

Andrews can look forward to weeks of frustrating responses and vague promises from the Lautenberg camp, citing scheduling conflicts, questioning the venue or sponsoring organizations, and pleading time constraints imposed by a need to be in Washington tending to pressing Senate business. And, if there's no Senate business, he'll create some.

Even if Andrews can shame Lautenberg into only one televised debate --- and that's problematic --- it's certain that the Senator's campaign advisers will try to schedule it on a day and time when the smallest audience will tune in.

After all, here's a candidate who won't even put his name on news releases, preferring instead they be issued in the names of his staff people as if somehow voters are impressed by or interested in the opinions or views of a paid campaign worker.

Because hard core party organization people normally participate in primaries, debates are generally less meaningful. Organization endorsements and the awarding of party lines on the ballot are more valuable. This year, however, because of the high profile nature of the contest --- after all, it's rare that a sitting U. S. Senator faces a primary challenge --- and the heightened attention paid to Lautenberg's age, debates have taken on more relevance than usual.

Andrews will discover quickly that Lautenberg won't be an elusive target, he'll be an invisible one. His surrogates --- including New Jersey's remaining six Democratic congressmen who lust after Lautenberg's seat but lack the stomach to compete for it --- will carry the attack burden for Lautenberg.

Andrews' vote to authorize the President to send the military into Iraq has become the centerpiece of the Lautenberg campaign. The dozens of other Democrats --- including Sen. Hillary Clinton --- also supported the military response and most, like Andrews, have soured on the adventure and want an end to it.

Andrews, while he's been careful to avoid concentrating on Lautenberg's age, obviously understands that the contrast between the two of them in a debate format would be striking. It's pretty much a given that Andrews is quicker on his feet and more adept in a rapid give and take exchange and would take the measure of Lautenberg in a debate.

The Senator has tried to blunt the concern about his years with the slogan-like comment that it's not about age, it's about effectiveness.

That argument would be more credible if there was any evidence of his effectiveness to point to.

The handful of polls already taken show a consistent majority of respondents feel Lautenberg's age is a major factor in their decision about who to support and that it's time for him to step aside in favor of someone new and younger.

The Lautenberg campaign is hyper-sensitive to the age issue and how it's been portrayed thus far. Their well-founded fear is that placing him in debates with Andrews will only sharpen the chronological distinctions and reinforce the view that the Senator should take himself out of the running for the Strom Thurmond longevity award.

Andrews is enough of a political realist to understand that convincing his party to dump an incumbent U. S. Senator is a Herculean task. He's not the favorite in the race, despite the public support he's received from some fairly heavy hitters in both North and South Jersey.

The Lautenberg campaign will continue to ignore his debate challenges and pay no heed to his reminders that voters are entitled to an open exchange of the candidates' views and ideas. That kind of exchange is the last thing the Lautenberg campaign wants.

So, Andrews is left with the prospect of using the old gimmick of appearing on stage next to an unoccupied chair signifying his opponents' refusal to face voters and their questions.

He could, however, substitute an empty suit as his prop. It might be difficult to distinguish the prop from the real Lautenberg.